DIY Applique Sweatshirt

With more days spent at home and outside, I found my "momiform" is a lot of comfy clothing these days. Of course I need a good sweatshirt in the mix for cooler mornings and evenings. Being a designer I felt inspired to customize the sweatshirt with cute wording like "LOVE" and "COOL MOM" using applique letters. I really liked this collection from OESD Floral Alphabet Appliques and they have plenty of other options to choose from. This is a great way to add a design to a sweatshirt and great gift ideas too. Get the details below to make your own.

Supplies:

• Floral Alphabet Appliques 
• CutAway Stabilizer
• Sweatshirt
• Embroidery Thread 
• Cotton fabric for applique
• fusible interfacing for back of applique fabric
• Brother PE800 Embroidery System

Begin by marking out the placement of the embroidery. I like to start my design (depending on the size of the design) about 3"-4" down from the collar.  You will need to mark off the center as well. If you have software, it's a good idea to print the design out and make sure proper placement. 

Cut a strip of CutAway Stabilizer that is large enough to cover the hoop and embroidery area. Use 404 spray and place on the wrong side of the front of the sweatshirt. 

Hoop the front of the sweatshirt (with stabilizer) making sure the hoop center marks match the center marks of the sweatshirt. 

Fold over the rest of the sweatshirt around the hoop so only the front of the sweatshirt is in the hoop area. 

Prep the fabric for the applique letters. I used a fusible interfacing on the back of each piece. Set up the embroidery machine and make sure the placement matches your marks. 

• Sew the placement stitch. 
• Spray 505 Temporary Spray Adhesive on the back of the applique fabric. 
• Place fabric over the placement stitch so it is completely covered. 
• Sew the cutline and tackdown. 

• Carefully cut away the excess applique fabric. 
• Sew the remainder of the design and repeat for the remaining pieces. 

Hoop the bottom half if you plan to do more. 

Repeat the above steps! Now you have a "COOL" sweatshirt to wear. 

***In collaboration with OESD